The picture featured with this blog is of some nice juicy blackberries that I picked last summer. I grew up picking blackberries with my parents and my brothers but that’s about as much as I know about foraging. A recent article in Charlotte Magazine got me thinking about what I know about foraging for food off the land. Well, the answer for me is “not much”. I grew up picking blackberries with my parents and my brothers but that and picking up pecans out of our yard is as much as I know about foraging. But not so long ago the European settlers who came to this part of North Carolina found a land that was rich with food in ways we can only imagine. The Native Americans knew and used many of these plants both as food and as medicine. I’m sure the European settlers learned from their Native neighbors and also brought some knowledge with them. I always thought about hunting and fishing as ways people could feed themselves off the land but if you know your plants you can find a host of good things to eat. Take fungi as an example, I have never learned to identify which mushrooms are edible and which are deadly poison but to the skillful forager there is a great deal of sustenance available in the forest. I know about nuts and berries and can pretty much identify the ones that are tasty and edible but what about acorns? Did you know that you can cook and eat acorns or make a flour from them?
And then there are greens: dandelion, rocket, poke, and fiddleheads to name a few. You have to know what you are picking and when to pick it as some things change as they get older.
Another thing you could forage, if you knew your plants, would be things that can make tea such as pine needles or sassafras root or New Jersey Tea. Imagine, picking plants and brewing your own tasty tea. Maybe we can offer some guidance on foraging in the coming months. Meanwhile, stick with what you know for sure. Or go visit Heirloom- a new restaurant in Charlotte that features foraged and locally grown food. And check out this article: